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Thread: Press Form Check: Left arm goes higher than the right arm

  1. #1
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    Default Press Form Check: Left arm goes higher than the right arm

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    Background: Male 39, 66 kg, 5 ft 4" short. I am rerunning my NLP. But I am going slow on the Press and Bench Press because I am recovering from a bad case of Golfer's Elbow on my RIGHT ARM, thanks to Coach Rip's pin firing protocol. Even though the worst of the Golfer's Elbow is behind me, I still have some mild pain at the bottom of the press movements.

    My son tells me that I press in a funny way. So I filmed my second and third set and I see that my left and right hands are not in sync. Left arm goes higher than the right. But in my mind's eye, I doing a perfect press. First half of the video shows the view from the rear and the second half shows the view from the side:

    Press form check: arms not in sync - YouTube

    My hands are of equal length, so it may not be an anthropometric issue. Weight is only 43.75 kg and the Golfer's elbow does not trouble me on the Press as much as on the Bench Press. What can I do to correct this issue?

  2. #2
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    Maybe your left arm is longer than your right arm? If there is no pain it is not an issue. Keeping your wrists straight would help. I would also suggest switching to Press 2.0

  3. #3
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    Arm length isn't the issue - I have double checked it. Could it be due to a strength imbalance? Or could it be because my right arm has become lazy and scared due to occasional discomfort from the Golfer's Elbow issue?

    OK, will try to straighten the wrists.

    And, so this isn't Press 2.0?

  4. #4
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    Don't worry about a strength imbalance. Even if you had one the best way to fix it would be to continue to get stronger bilaterally. Your arms do not have emotions. You are doing strict presses here

  5. #5
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    Based on the inputs from Coach Arnold on my Press form check video, I have tried to learn how to Press 2.0 after re-reading SSBBT and watching many videos. Here is a stitched 90 second video of my 5 step learning attempt. Please see if I am doing it correctly.

    Step 1: Hip Thrust
    Step 2: Bouncing the Bar
    Step 3: Pressing the Bar
    Step 4: Adding some weight
    Step 5: Adding some more weight

    Video: Learning how to PRESS 2.0 - YouTube

    (In the last step with 30 kgs, I was going off balance. I did this after my today's Squat/Bench/Deadlift workout and I was too tired by then. Also, the kid wanted to play with me and I did not feel it right to keep her engaged on the YouTube for long. I will do some more practice on Sunday based on the inputs on the form).

  6. #6
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    1 - Get your elbows forward more so your forearms are vertical - keeping wrists straight
    2 - Breathe only at the bottom

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ryan Arnold View Post
    1 - Get your elbows forward more so your forearms are vertical - keeping wrists straight
    2 - Breathe only at the bottom
    I really want to thank you coach for your time and for the valuable inputs. Today I pressed 40 kg. Here is the third set. Can you please check if I am improving?

    Learning How to Press 2.0, Part 2 - YouTube

    Own observations:
    1) I have tried to keep the wrists straight and to support the bar with the "heel of the palm". But I see the wrist angle changes as the bar goes up. I tried to correct it, but I should work on this.
    2) I guess breathing is okay now.
    3) I feel that the timing needs some more work. Some reps were too easy and the bar really caught the momentum and shot up - like the reps 2 and 4. Rep 5 was slow, here also I felt the bar springing up. This "springing up" didn't happen in the other 3 reps. First Rep was particularly hard and I think it was because of really bad timing. Any cues to improve the timing?

    Note 1: I am unracking/racking the weights facing away from the hooks only for getting a better camera angle for this video. I would never do that with a real heavy weight.
    Note 2: I miscounted the reps. Hence the 6 rep set.

  8. #8
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    These are better. It takes a little while to get the coordination down for the Press 2.0. You just have to actively remind yourself to return to the same "straight wrists elbows forward" position at the bottom of each rep. Memorize what it looks and feels like and reproduce it every rep. Timing does need work. Breath. Hip Reach. Press. Be more aggressive and make the bar bounce up(stretch reflex) a little more right before the Press

  9. #9
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    Coach, I pressed again today. Went 2.5 kg up from the last time. Here is the third set:

    Press 2.0 Crash Course Episode 3: 42.5 kg x 5, Third Set. - YouTube

    Please give your comments.

    Own Observations:
    1) Timing is better than the last time, I am now confident that I can improve it with practice.
    2) I need to more actively remind myself to keep the elbow forward and the wrists straight.

    Do you think that I should drop the weight and perfect the technique before moving forward?

    Note 1: I am unracking and racking the wrong way for better camera angle.
    Note 2: The kid in the video is my gym owner (I have kept the rack in her bedroom). She is my lifting partner too. She loves to be in the frame whenever I shoot a video.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Always nice to have such an encouraging gym owner. Very rare. You can finish the breath a little sooner before you reach, and yes keep the elbows forward but overall these are solid. I would keep going up in weight but face the right way in the rack now

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